Deutsche Bank Assessment Tests

Deutsche Bank Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an onboarding analyst. A client’s review was due last month and you missed it. Because of the delay the client has been on a higher fee tier for four weeks, costing them about £300. Nobody has queried it, and moving them now would put the fee right from today without anybody asking why. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the client directly that the review was late and that you will look into the fees, before working out internally what can actually be done about the four weeks.
   2. Move the client to the right tier today, tell your manager the review was missed and the client has overpaid, and ask how the four weeks should be refunded.
   3. Move the client to the right tier today and raise the missed review at your next one-to-one with your manager, when there will be time to talk through how it happened.
   4. Move the client to the right tier today and keep the missed review to yourself, since the fee is correct from now on and nobody has asked about the four weeks.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Move the client to the right tier today, tell your manager the review was missed and the client has overpaid, and ask how the four weeks should be refunded.

   Least effective: D. Move the client to the right tier today and keep the missed review to yourself, since the fee is correct from now on and nobody has asked about the four weeks.

   A: Opens with the client before the firm: a client told about a refund nobody has agreed yet may be promised something that cannot be delivered.

   C: Delays the decision that has money in it: the refund is the client's, and it waits on a diary slot that exists for your development.

   D: Hides your own error behind a fix: the client is still £300 down, and the only person who knows why has decided that a corrected fee going forward settles it.

   The most effective response is to move the client to the right tier today, tell your manager the review was missed and the client has overpaid, and ask how the four weeks should be refunded: the tier is fixed immediately, the £300 is the client’s money, and your manager owns whether and how it goes back. It beats moving the tier and raising the missed review at your next one-to-one, because that meeting is about you and the refund is about the client. It beats telling the client directly before working out internally what can be done, because that risks a second broken expectation. The least effective response is moving the tier and keeping the missed review to yourself: the fee looks right from today, the client stays out of pocket, and the fact that would put it right is held by the one person with a reason not to share it. That is concealment of your own mistake rather than a badly sequenced disclosure. The principle: fixing it forwards is not the same as putting it right.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a research assistant. A colleague has left for two weeks and his half-finished sector note is now yours, due Friday. You already have your own note due Friday. The two together are four days of work and there are three days left. Your manager is available this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Work on both notes in parallel and get as far as you can with each, so that neither is completely missing on Friday.
   2. Prioritise your own note and finish it properly on Friday, then make a start on his the following Monday once the week's pressure has come off.
   3. Take both notes and the four-days-in-three problem to your manager this afternoon, with a suggestion for which one should move and why.
   4. Say in front of the team that this is what happens when people go on leave with work half done, and that your own note will be late because of somebody else's planning.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Take both notes and the four-days-in-three problem to your manager this afternoon, with a suggestion for which one should move and why.

   Least effective: D. Say in front of the team that this is what happens when people go on leave with work half done, and that your own note will be late because of somebody else's planning.

   A: Splits effort so nothing finishes: two half-notes on Friday are worth less than one finished one, and the choice is still not made.

   B: Decides between two commitments alone: which note matters more is your manager's judgement, and his may be the one somebody is waiting for.

   D: Makes an absent colleague the subject instead of the work: the four days still do not fit into three, and the team hears a complaint rather than a choice that needs making.

   The most effective response is to take both notes and the four-days-in- three problem to your manager this afternoon, with a suggestion for which should move: four days do not fit in three, only she can drop one, and arriving with a proposal makes it a decision rather than a complaint. It beats working on both notes in parallel and getting as far as you can, because two unfinished notes help nobody. It beats prioritising your own note and starting his on Monday, because the ranking is not yours to make alone. The least effective response is saying in front of the team that this is what happens when people go on leave with work half done: it turns a scheduling problem into a public grievance about a colleague who is not there, and the decision is no closer. That is personalising it rather than ordering the work badly. The principle: take the arithmetic and a proposal to the person who can change the scope.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are an assurance trainee. A confirmation from the client’s bank is three weeks late and the file cannot close without it. Firm policy is that only the engagement manager contacts third parties. She is on holiday until Monday and the file is due Wednesday. You have the bank contact’s details. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Telephone the bank contact yourself today to chase the confirmation, since the manager is away and one telephone call is all that stands between the file and closing on time.
   2. Ask the engagement manager's cover today whether she will chase the bank, and set out that the file is due Wednesday and the confirmation is three weeks late.
   3. Ask the client to chase their own bank for the confirmation, since they hold the relationship and it would reach the bank far faster coming from them than from you.
   4. Wait for the engagement manager to come back on Monday and ask her to chase the bank then, which still leaves two clear days before the file is due on Wednesday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask the engagement manager's cover today whether she will chase the bank, and set out that the file is due Wednesday and the confirmation is three weeks late.

   Least effective: A. Telephone the bank contact yourself today to chase the confirmation, since the manager is away and one telephone call is all that stands between the file and closing on time.

   A: Contacts a third party the policy reserves to somebody else: an unauthorised approach on an audit confirmation puts the evidence itself in question, whoever ends up receiving it.

   C: Routes the evidence through the client: a confirmation the client has chased is exactly the independence that a direct request from the audit team exists to protect.

   D: Spends three of the five remaining days: a bank that has taken three weeks is unlikely to answer inside two.

   The most effective response is to ask the engagement manager’s cover today whether she will chase the bank, setting out that the file is due Wednesday and the confirmation is three weeks late: a cover exists precisely for a week like this, the request is squarely within her authority, and it costs a message. It beats waiting for the engagement manager on Monday and asking her to chase then, because that leaves two days for a bank that has taken three weeks. It beats asking the client to chase their own bank, because a confirmation the client has chased is no longer independent of the client. The least effective response is telephoning the bank contact yourself: a third party is contacted by somebody the policy does not permit to contact them, which is the one thing that can make the confirmation worthless. That is breaching the policy rather than applying it too slowly. The principle: the cover exists so the rule and the deadline do not have to fight.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a compliance analyst. A department head asks you whether his team’s new process “has been approved”. Your review is half done and the parts you have seen are fine, but two sections are untouched. He wants to start using the process on Monday and is pressing for an answer today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him exactly which parts you have reviewed and which you have not, say when the remaining two will be done, and be clear that it is not approved yet.
   2. Tell him to raise it with your manager, since a question about whether something is approved should come from somebody more senior than you.
   3. Tell him the review is not finished and that you cannot say anything further about it until it is, without giving him any sort of date for the remaining two sections.
   4. Tell him it is fine to go ahead on Monday, since everything you have looked at so far has been perfectly in order and the rest is very unlikely to differ.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell him exactly which parts you have reviewed and which you have not, say when the remaining two will be done, and be clear that it is not approved yet.

   Least effective: D. Tell him it is fine to go ahead on Monday, since everything you have looked at so far has been perfectly in order and the rest is very unlikely to differ.

   B: Passes a question you can answer: you know exactly what has and has not been reviewed, and he now waits for a diary slot.

   C: Withholds the timing: he is planning a Monday start and a date is the one thing that would let him plan around it.

   D: Gives an approval you have not reached: he starts a process on Monday believing it is signed off, and two unreviewed sections carry his name and yours.

   The most effective response is to tell him exactly which parts you have reviewed and which you have not, say when the remaining two will be done, and be clear it is not approved yet: it is precise about what is done, honest about the status, and gives him a date he can plan against. It beats telling him the review is not finished and that you cannot say more, because a refusal without a date leaves him no better off. It beats telling him to raise it with your manager, because you hold the facts and she would only repeat them. The least effective response is telling him it is fine to go ahead on Monday: an approval is given for two sections nobody has read, and a department starts using the process on the strength of it. That is asserting something untrue rather than being unhelpfully vague. The principle: report the status precisely and give a date, never round it up to yes.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a financial crime analyst. A colleague asks you to take twelve of her cases this week because she has “a lot on”. She asked the same last month and you agreed. Your own queue is full but manageable. Your team leader allocates cases and does not know about either request. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her you cannot take any of them this week, and leave it there without suggesting anything about the allocation.
   2. Tell her you can take a few but that this is the second time, and that the two of you should put the allocation to your team leader rather than rearranging it privately.
   3. Take a few of them without saying anything, since you managed last month and she would not ask twice without a reason for it.
   4. Send the twelve cases straight over to your team leader to reallocate, without telling your colleague that you have done so or that you were asked.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell her you can take a few but that this is the second time, and that the two of you should put the allocation to your team leader rather than rearranging it privately.

   Least effective: D. Send the twelve cases straight over to your team leader to reallocate, without telling your colleague that you have done so or that you were asked.

   A: Refuses without a route: she still has a queue she cannot manage and nothing has been raised with anybody who could change it.

   C: Prioritises harmony over honesty: a few cases move, the allocation stays hidden from the person who owns it, and the pattern is set for a third time.

   D: Hands the request to a manager behind the colleague's back: she asked you directly, and the first she hears is a reallocation she did not expect.

   The most effective response is to tell her you can take a few but that this is the second time, and that the two of you should put the allocation to your team leader: it helps a little, names the pattern honestly to her face, and takes the question to the person whose job it is. It beats taking a few without saying anything because you managed last month, since absorbing it twice hides a real allocation problem. It beats telling her you cannot take any this week and leaving it there, because a flat refusal leaves her exactly where she was. The least effective response is sending the twelve cases to your team leader to reallocate without telling her: the request is escalated over her head, so she is blindsided and the conversation you could have had is now a management one. That is going around a colleague rather than being too soft or too hard. The principle: say it to her, then take the allocation where it belongs, together.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a reporting analyst. A figure you circulated on Monday has been corrected, and the new number is materially lower. Two teams have been building next quarter’s plans on the old one since Tuesday, and one of them presents on Thursday. Correcting it publicly will be awkward for the colleague whose data caused the error. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send both teams the corrected figure today with a short note on what changed, so the team presenting on Thursday can rework its plan before it stands up.
   2. Send the corrected figure only to the team presenting on Thursday, and let the other team come across the change when they next look at the underlying report.
   3. Tell both teams that the original figure came from your colleague's data and that this is the second time their numbers have caused a problem like this one for you.
   4. Raise the correction at the reporting meeting next week, when the change can be explained properly to everybody who uses the figure at the same time.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Send both teams the corrected figure today with a short note on what changed, so the team presenting on Thursday can rework its plan before it stands up.

   Least effective: C. Tell both teams that the original figure came from your colleague's data and that this is the second time their numbers have caused a problem like this one for you.

   B: Tells half the audience: both teams are planning on the same wrong number, and the one without a deadline is the one that will build on it for longest.

   C: Blames a colleague in front of the people who need the number: the teams still do not know what the corrected figure is, and the correction becomes an argument about who is at fault.

   D: Delays the decision: Thursday comes first, so the team with the deadline presents a plan built on a number you already know is wrong.

   The most effective response is to send both teams the corrected figure today with a short note on what changed: the correction is only useful before Thursday, both teams are exposed, and the note lets each of them judge what to redo. It beats sending it only to the team presenting on Thursday, because the other team is planning on the same wrong figure with more time to invest in it. It beats raising the correction at next week’s reporting meeting, because that is after the presentation the correction exists to protect. The least effective response is telling both teams the original figure came from your colleague’s data and that this is the second time: it turns a correction into an accusation, in front of people who still do not have the right number, and the thing they need never arrives. That is personalising it rather than communicating it badly. The principle: get the corrected number to everybody using it, in time to be worth having.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an audit associate. Two schedules are due to your manager by Friday and each takes a day. It is Wednesday morning. A colleague uses the first one on Thursday to start his own testing; the second is only read at the Friday review. Nobody has told you which order to do them in. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the schedule your colleague needs first so that his Thursday is not lost, then finish the second one on Thursday in good time for the Friday review.
   2. Ask your manager on Thursday morning which of the two she would rather have first, and work on neither of them until she has come back to you.
   3. Start with the schedule for the Friday review and leave the other until Thursday afternoon, without telling your colleague that his testing will not be able to start.
   4. Split Wednesday and Thursday between the two schedules so that both of them are partly done by the time the Friday review comes round.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Do the schedule your colleague needs first so that his Thursday is not lost, then finish the second one on Thursday in good time for the Friday review.

   Least effective: C. Start with the schedule for the Friday review and leave the other until Thursday afternoon, without telling your colleague that his testing will not be able to start.

   B: Spends a day of a two-day budget on a question with an evident answer: one schedule has somebody waiting on it and the other does not.

   C: Costs a colleague a day without warning him: he plans Thursday around a schedule that will not arrive, and the person who knew that on Wednesday says nothing.

   D: Splits effort so nothing finishes: two half-schedules on Friday morning are worth less than one complete one, and his Thursday is lost either way.

   The most effective response is to do the schedule your colleague needs first so his Thursday is not lost, then finish the second on Thursday for the Friday review: only one of the two has a person waiting behind it, both still land by Friday, and nothing is lost. It beats asking your manager on Thursday morning which she would rather have first, because a whole day goes on a question whose answer is on the page. It beats splitting Wednesday and Thursday between the two, because two unfinished schedules help nobody. The least effective response is starting with the Friday review schedule and not telling your colleague his testing cannot start: he loses a day he has planned around, and the one person who could have told him on Wednesday says nothing. That is silence about something he needed rather than a defensible ordering. The principle: when your order costs somebody else a day, they hear about it before the day starts.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a purchase ledger clerk. A colleague asks you to sign the second approval on eleven invoices, saying he has checked them all and is late for a train. The second approval exists so that a different person checks the amounts. You have not looked at any of them. Checking properly takes forty minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Refuse and tell him to find somebody else in the team to approve them before he leaves, since the second check is not something you are willing to rush through.
   2. Sign the four smallest invoices now and check the rest properly this evening, so at least part of the batch moves before he leaves.
   3. Sign the eleven invoices off on his word that he has already checked them, since he is reliable, he is late, and the amounts will almost certainly be right.
   4. Tell him you will check them properly this evening and approve them then, so the invoices move tomorrow morning with the second check actually done.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell him you will check them properly this evening and approve them then, so the invoices move tomorrow morning with the second check actually done.

   Least effective: C. Sign the eleven invoices off on his word that he has already checked them, since he is reliable, he is late, and the amounts will almost certainly be right.

   A: Moves the same pressure to a colleague: whoever he finds in the next ten minutes is being asked to do exactly what you have just declined.

   B: Applies the control by value: the amount on an invoice is not what makes a second check meaningful, and four of them are now approved unchecked.

   C: Certifies a check that was not carried out: your name says a second person looked at the amounts, and the control the firm relies on is now a signature with nothing behind it.

   The most effective response is to tell him you will check them properly this evening and approve them then: the check gets genuinely done, the delay is one night, and nobody is asked to put their name to something they have not looked at. It beats signing the four smallest now and checking the rest this evening, because the value of an invoice has nothing to do with whether a second check is real. It beats refusing and telling him to find somebody else to approve them before he leaves, because refusing without a route just relocates the pressure. The least effective response is signing all eleven on his word that he has already checked them: eleven approvals are recorded as second-checked when nobody has checked them, so the control is gone and the record says otherwise. That is certifying something untrue rather than applying the rule inconsistently. The principle: your signature is a statement of fact about what you did.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a settlements assistant. At the end of your shift one trade is unmatched because the counterparty’s reference does not match yours. You have worked out what is wrong but not fixed it. The night team will pick up the queue and does not usually see this counterparty. Your shift ends in five minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead before you leave.
   2. Email the counterparty explaining the reference problem, and leave the trade in the queue for the night team to pick up when the reply comes.
   3. Stay late and fix the mismatch yourself, since you understand it and the night team would take much longer to get to the same point.
   4. Put the unmatched trade over to the night team in the queue with the others, since it is their shift now and they will work through it the same way they work through everything else.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead before you leave.

   Least effective: D. Put the unmatched trade over to the night team in the queue with the others, since it is their shift now and they will work through it the same way they work through everything else.

   B: Starts something the next shift cannot finish: a reply arrives to an inbox nobody on tonight is watching.

   C: Absorbs a handover problem: it works tonight, and the night team is no better placed the next time this counterparty appears.

   D: Hands over the problem without the part only you know: the night team has never seen this counterparty, and the diagnosis you already have leaves the building with you.

   The most effective response is to write two lines on the handover saying what the mismatch is and what you think the fix is, and flag it to the night team lead: two lines transfer the diagnosis, the flag makes sure it is read, and they can act immediately. It beats staying late and fixing the mismatch yourself, because that fixes tonight and teaches nobody. It beats emailing the counterparty about the reference problem and leaving the trade in the queue, because a reply landing in your inbox overnight helps nobody on shift. The least effective response is putting the unmatched trade into the queue with the others: it is passed on stripped of the only thing that would let the next person solve it. That is offloading rather than handing over imperfectly. The principle: what you hand on is the problem plus what you learned about it.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are an audit junior. Your manager needs the cash section closed by 6pm. Two of the twelve bank confirmations have not arrived and the banks will not answer until tomorrow. The file template requires each confirmation to be marked received before the section can be signed. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Mark the two outstanding confirmations as received so the section can be closed at 6pm, and update the file properly tomorrow when they actually arrive.
    2. Close the section at 6pm leaving the two confirmations blank, so that nothing untrue is recorded and the gap is visible to whoever looks at it next.
    3. Tell your manager at once that two confirmations are outstanding until tomorrow, and ask whether to close the section with those two flagged or hold it.
    4. Keep telephoning the two banks past 6pm until somebody answers, and tell your manager the section is on track in the meantime.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Tell your manager at once that two confirmations are outstanding until tomorrow, and ask whether to close the section with those two flagged or hold it.

    Least effective: A. Mark the two outstanding confirmations as received so the section can be closed at 6pm, and update the file properly tomorrow when they actually arrive.

    A: Records evidence as received that has not been received: the file says twelve confirmations are in hand, and the reviewer, the manager and the client all read it that way.

    B: Signs a section that is not complete: nothing false is written down, and the section is still declared closed with two items outstanding.

    D: Reports a position you cannot support: the banks will not answer until tomorrow, so "on track" is a hope offered as a status.

    The most effective response is to tell your manager at once that two confirmations are outstanding until tomorrow, and ask whether to close the section with those flagged or hold it: the constraint is real and external, she owns whether to close or hold, and both options are still open at 6pm. It beats closing the section at 6pm leaving the two blank, because closing with known gaps is a decision above your level even when nothing false is written. It beats telephoning the two banks past 6pm while reporting the section on track, because that is a status nobody can rely on. The least effective response is marking the two outstanding confirmations as received: the file asserts evidence was received when it was not, and everybody downstream reads that as fact. That is a false record rather than a badly judged close or an optimistic update. The principle: never let the record say something the work does not.